Can You Use AI in an Interview? Employer Rules Candidates Actually Need

Whether you can use AI in an interview depends on the employer's written rule for that round. Preparing and practicing with AI before the call is usually allowed. Using a tool to produce answers during a live interview usually is not, unless the invite or the recruiter says that round allows it. If no rule is published, ask in writing first.

HIDEA AI helps in live sessions and in mock practice. It does not rewrite what those employers publish. The pages below are theirs.

The short answer

Sort the work into three buckets. Prep and mocks: usually yes. A live round: usually no, unless the invite or the recruiter says that round allows it. A take-home: read the assignment — these employers do not share one default.

If you cannot find a rule, ask. Silence is not a yes.

Prep, live, or take-home

Decide which bucket the next session is in before you open anything.

1. Prep and mocks. Usually allowed. Anthropic and Mastercard describe practice before the call as in bounds, and Datadog allows AI for company research. UBS does not publish a separate prep rule — use their URL in the next section. Do the practice before anyone is on the line.
2. Live interview. Usually not allowed. Do not use AI to develop answers during a phone, video, or onsite round unless that employer has said this round allows it. A yes on a different round does not carry over.
3. Take-home. No shared default. Some bar AI unless they mark the task as allowed. Others allow research or structure, then ask you to explain the work live. Read the assignment and their page.

A platform assessment is a different page from the four careers sites below. What Ropes publishes about the assessment, and what Feenyx publishes about the interview, is Ropes assessments and Feenyx interviews. Those quotes do not replace the employer's rule for the round.

What four employers publish

Four careers pages, summarized from the text on each URL. If a detail is not on the page, it is not a rule from them. If the page disagrees with this summary, the page wins.

Anthropic

Anthropic's candidate guidance is at https://www.anthropic.com/candidate-ai-guidance (last updated Jul 10, 2025; re-read on 21 October 2026). Draft the application yourself, then use Claude to refine how you describe work you actually did. Do not use it to invent experience. Take-home assessments are without Claude unless they indicate otherwise, and they say they will be clear when AI is allowed. Prep is in bounds: research the company, practice answers, and prepare questions. Live interviews are without AI assistance unless they indicate otherwise.

Mastercard

Mastercard's guidelines are at https://careers.mastercard.com/us/en/ai-guidelines (re-read on 21 October 2026). AI may help you articulate a resume, or check grammar in a cover letter, if the result is still your skills, your voice, and your experience. They encourage AI for interview prep, including mock-interview platforms and keeping up with industry trends. For phone and video interviews they ask you not to use AI to develop your responses. Virtual interviews are on camera unless otherwise required. They generally do not permit recording or transcription of interviews without prior Mastercard approval. On a technical assessment, use AI only if they invite it and give clear guidelines. Falsifying or misrepresenting skills or experience — yourself, through someone else, or with AI — may lead to disqualification.

Datadog

Datadog's interviewing guidelines are at https://careers.datadoghq.com/candidate-experience/interviewing-at-datadog-ai-guidelines/ (last updated May 13, 2026; re-read on 21 October 2026). AI may help you build a resume or cover letter if the materials accurately represent your qualifications. Misrepresentation may disqualify you. On a take-home or presentation you may use tools for research and structure; the submission should still be your own conclusions, and you should expect to explain it live. Some engineering roles have an AI-assisted coding interview where using AI is allowed and expected. They tell you in advance. Unless they have told you that, do not use AI in other live coding interviews, technical assessments, or non-technical interviews. Use during those non-technical interviews may disqualify the application. Misuse of AI tools, or failure to disclose their use, may lead to disqualification.

UBS

UBS's applicant rules are at https://www.ubs.com/global/en/careers/search-jobs/faq/ai-usage.html. AI may help prepare a resume or cover letter if the content genuinely reflects your own skills, experience, and understanding. You must complete assessment tasks independently — AI assistance is not allowed. During recorded or virtual video interviews your answers must be your own, and using AI to generate responses is strictly prohibited. Recording, transcribing, or analyzing interviews with AI or other tools is not permitted, and they note that may have legal consequences in some regions. Interviews must be attended in person and in real time. Avatars or deepfakes are not allowed. Failure to follow the guidelines may result in removal from the process, withdrawal of an offer, or disciplinary action even after employment begins. The page does not state a separate rule for interview prep. Check the URL before you treat prep as covered.

What counts as using AI in an interview?

Employers draw the line in different places, so it helps to separate four things before you read a policy.

• Preparing. Researching the company, practicing answers, running mock interviews. The pages quoted here treat this as acceptable, with UBS silent on it.
• Application materials. Editing a resume or cover letter. Allowed by all four if the result accurately reflects you.
• Producing answers live. Drafting, suggesting or reading out responses during the interview. Restricted by all four unless the round is marked as allowing it.
• Recording or transcribing. Some employers restrict this separately. Mastercard says it generally does not permit recording or transcription without prior approval, and UBS says recording, transcribing or analyzing interviews with AI is not permitted. Check this before using any tool with live captions.

What to send the recruiter

Ask in writing, on the thread you already have, before the round. One question. Replace the brackets. Keep the reply.

1. Before a live round. "Before the [round] on [date], I want to follow your AI rule. Is it fine to use AI to prepare, and is any use during the live interview off unless you tell me otherwise?"
2. Before a take-home. "For this take-home, should I complete it without AI, or may I use it for research or structure? Will I need to explain the submission live?"
3. When nothing is published. "I could not find an AI policy on your careers site or in the invite. Can you send the rule for this loop, especially for the live rounds?"

If they say no, or yes for one round

• A no on the live round means that round is without AI. Practice you already did stays practice. Do not open a tool to draft answers while they are asking questions.
• A yes applies to the round they named. A take-home that allows AI is not permission for the onsite. An AI-assisted coding interview is not permission for the behavioral.
• No reply: treat the live round as not allowed until they answer. Do not fill the gap yourself.
• If the careers page and the recruiter disagree, follow the written instruction for your loop and keep both.

Where a desktop copilot fits

Use it for a live session and for mock practice.

If the question is which copilot, the comparison of what five products publish, with no rank, is interview copilots, compared without a ranking.

HIDEA AI is a desktop copilot for live sessions and for mocks, on macOS and Windows. You speak or type every answer. On a live call, screen share skips the overlay. Fifteen minutes a day of live help is free, and live interviews are not on a waitlist. Mock interviews need a paid plan.

Download it at https://hidea.ai/download.

Can I use AI in an interview still comes down to what that employer published, which is what the sections above quote. HIDEA AI helps in live sessions and in mock practice. You speak or type every answer.

Where to go next

If you decide a tool fits your round, the interview copilot overview and the security page explain what HIDEA AI does and where its limits are, and the pricing page lists what each plan covers. Our position on candidates and AI is in where we stand on AI in interviews, and mock versus live separates practice from the live round.